The European slump that is pushing down truck sales sees no sign of abating. Demand for new heavy trucks -- whose sales are closely linked to overall trade activity -- fell 18.4 percent in January across the region, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. New truck registrations fell 9.4 percent in Europe last year.

AB Volvo (STO:VOLV-A), based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and owned by China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. (HKG:0175), announced earlier this year that it was reducing factory production by half. Volvo is a major manufacturer in trucking; it currently sells a dozen models of big rigs for hauling up to 100-ton loads.